Stars
by Deathly Betrayal
Summary: Eclipse liked to watch the stars at night. He knew a lot about them. Sunfire goes up, ignoring when he needs to sleep, to ask questions about them. Stars are dead, long before you look at them, long before you can see them. For their light is only their soul; and I believe that those souls are the souls of people. "Why do you like watching the stars?"


**A/N) Hello. I'm typing this because today I drew a picture of Eclipse and Sunfire looking at stars, and my friend knew I wrote fanfiction and gave me a prompt. She pointed at the picture and said simply, "Brotherly Love". And this came up. :P**

**I hope that you can enjoy this.**

**Explanation for headcanon used in this story will be explained at the author's note at the end of this story.**

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_**Stars**_

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Eclipse stared into the sky, as the sun withdrew its rays of light. Cold settled in slowly, cooling him just a little, and he watched as the bright blue of the sky turned pink-red and slowly descending into dark shades of almost-black. Night was almost never black, honestly - it was always shades of dark silver, because of the moon reflecting the rays of the sun, and dark blue and even smoky tints of rainclouds.

"Eclipse?" The dark magician turned sharply at the sound of his name, relaxing as he recognized the sleepy person behind him. It was a mirror image, but the other male was a little shorter and had white hair and blue eyes instead of his black-and-red colors. Eclipse blinked, tilting his head.

"Yes, Sunfire?" he asked, watching as the tired male crawled onto the edge of the building where he stood and leaned against the safety fence. He could see bright stars in the sky, shining and sparkling like polished diamonds. Sunfire yawned and looked up.

"Eclipse, why are you so interested in the night?" Sunfire asked quickly, in the innocent way only kids of could muster. Sunfire was a sort of a permanent child anyway, so the necromancer didn't hold it against him. "Why are you so interested in something that would disappear when the sun disappears, and when you look at the stars and the moon that will never answer back?"

"Because it makes me feel small. It lets me know that there is so much more happening, and it makes me feel better when I have had a bad day. It's relaxing to count off the stars; it's relaxing to know that you're not the only one in this world." Eclipse blinked. "Also, I'm never really staring at stars, Sunfire. I'm staring at their souls. The light is the only thing they have left, honestly, as they have already died out long before their light reaches us. The stars are dead... but to me, the light represents the souls of the people I have watched die."

"Even the ones you killed?" Sunfire watched for his reaction, and Eclipse sighed. It was amazing how Sunfire had forgiven him so quickly, especially when the younger brother had watched him kill the majority of them.

"Especially the ones I killed." Eclipse looked up again, letting out a dry smile, and he pointed upwards at a star that shone brighter than the ones in its constellation. "That's Acamar. It's originally called '_ākhir an-nahr'_ in Arabic, which means 'River's End'. It's called that because it is the brightest star in its constellation, the Eridanus, or 'The River'. That's who I believe is Freud."

"Why do you think that?" Sunfire asked, captivated by his older brother's knowledge of the stars. Eclipse adjusted how he laid against the safety fence, and looked upwards.

"Freud was always calm, wasn't he? Like a river, smooth-flowing and gentle. But when he's roughed up, he's like the river in a storm... the water would go everywhere, and the wind would howl loudly... I considered him a river. But the Arabic meaning, River's End, is the end of his life... he died. That's why I believed that was Freud." Eclipse sighed. He regretted killing the scholar on his father's order - Freud could have taught him how it really was to use dark magic. He knew that Freud had studied necromancy for a time, more than even _he _did. He looked at Sunfire. "Any other questions?"

"What about you? Which one is you?"

Eclipse smiled at the question. "The star I define as 'me' isn't here today. It is Algol, in the constellation Perseus. It means 'piled up corpses', which I had caused, and is known as the Demon Star. Perseus is the constellation of Medusa's head; Algol is the star that defines her eye."

"Which one is Aria?" Eclipse stared at him blankly, prompting him to tell his brother who Aria was. "You know, Phantom's lover? The Empress before Cygnus?"

"Oh. The one that Lotus killed." Eclipse's gaze scanned the sky, before he chuckled and pointed upwards again. "Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major. In some cultures, it is known as the 'Queen of Heaven'. That fits Aria for Phantom, I guess, but to the rest of the Maple World I suppose it is the same for them. That's why I believe that Aria is Sirius."

"What about me?"

"You're right here, idiot. You're the star right now." Eclipse held back a smile as Sunfire glared at him. "Don't look at me like that. I've lost my soul of humanity the moment I killed for fun and games. That's why I have a star. You, on the other hand, don't, because you never did. You're not dead; you're still living your life, aren't you?"

"What would you do if I _did_ join the sky?"

"Why are you filled with so many questions?" Eclipse chuckled. "I'll join you soon enough. Trust me, I won't let you join the sky for as long as I possibly can. I don't want you to touch the sky, I want you on the ground, on your feet, living your life. I'll protect you for as long as I possibly can, but I also have limits."

"Eclipse, is that a promise?"

"What is?"

"That you'll not let me die. I don't want to. It's kind of scary knowing that I'll die." Eclipse knocked his head lightly, and Sunfire glared at him. "It's just a question! You're mean!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Unfair exchange. I taught you about the stars, and you tell me I'm mean?" Eclipse rolled his eyes and looked away. "Yes. I'll try to. Trust me, I don't want to kill anyone else for the moment."

"Promise," Sunfire repeated.

"Yes. I promise."

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**A/N) Okay. The headcanon in here is that Eclipse is a very protective person for Sunfire. Eclipse is actually a kind person for me, and likes to hurt Phantom because he finds Phantom's reactions funny. He was the son of the Black Mage, and had killed many people because of his father's orders. But when he saw Sunfire, he decided not to kill anyone for Sunfire's sake.**

**I'm off. I never had much time to write nowadays... ugh. I have never done so much researching in my life.**

**-DB**


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